Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)(88)

I watch as my beloved Yllis wages war on my beloved brother, and I watch when Yllis is slain. Eero is too strong, and the stolen Songs have twisted his mind and made him far more ruthless than even the broken Songbearers.

Yllis dies with the stone in his hand.

His final spell traps his Song in the stone.

The Keepers of the Promise are supposed to take the stone, cross the border, and present it to the prince, whose touch will unlock the magic. But the Keepers he commanded to hold back and stay safe, rush in seeking revenge. None survive the battle.

The stone sits where it lies. Yllis’s gift to me, his whispered spell to bring me back to my body and gift me his own Song, lies under the rubble of the fallen city as his body turns to bones.

The archways are long gone now.

If they were here, perhaps I would pass into the World After to be with him. To thank him for trying to save me.

But being with Yllis is not punishment enough.

So I watch.

For a very long time.

Sometimes, a dream will find me and pierce the loneliness.

But more often, it is endless agony. Standing by watching while the centuries pass.

And now, Jasminda, you have heard my story. Judge me for my faults if you must. But you bear the only evidence of Yllis’s love for me. His Song is in your hands.

Release it.

Release me.

It is time for me to end this.




Jack gripped the edge of the seat as the airship descended from the clouds. The battle taking place below belonged to his worst fears. Judging by the sheer extent of the fighting, the Mantle had already been destroyed. As the ship flew closer to the ground, he marveled at the strange change in the soil for a moment, and then focused on the troop advancement. His men were beating back an impressive number of Lagrimari. He found it odd that no environmental disasters had been unleashed as in the Seventh Breach.

The ship set down safely just beyond the Eastern Base.

“That was some bloody fine piloting, Clove,” he said, clapping the woman on the back. He opened the carriage door and tore across the ground before she even had a chance to respond.

Flying through the vicious storm had been just as difficult as he’d imagined. They’d been bandied about by the wind and rain, and nearly struck by lightning twice. But Clove was unflappable, gripping the steering wheel with bloodless hands and navigating them safely through.

Now the only thing on his mind was finding Jasminda.

They’d set down about one hundred metres from the fighting, but he didn’t see any refugees near the battle or beyond it. Could they have already been taken away? Were they even now beyond sight, well on their way into Lagrimar? He spun in a circle, desperately hoping he was not too late.

A small figure emerged in the corner of his eye. Jack whipped around to find Osar standing next to the base mess hall, beckoning him forward. Jack took off at a run, vaguely aware of Vanesse and Clove scurrying after him.

Small clusters of refugees hid behind the outer buildings of the base. He searched their faces anxiously, running over and falling to his knees when he finally found her. Jasminda’s head rested on Rozyl’s shoulder. She appeared to be sound asleep.

So absorbed was he in his gratitude over locating her, several moments passed before he registered the blood covering her midsection. He met Rozyl’s eyes with horror. She shook her head.

He turned to Osar who looked on solemnly. “Can’t you do something?”

“This—” Rozyl tapped her knuckle to the hardened ground “—is like the cave. No one can sing.” Rozyl touched Jasminda’s head gently. “It will probably win your side this war.”

Jack ignored the last bit. The war could be dealt with once Jasminda was better. “Then we have to move her.” He reached forward and hauled Jasminda into his arms. Her breathing was shallow. He took off running in a random direction, determined to find a way out of this cursed, bespelled rock.

Jasminda’s eyes fluttered open, and his pace slowed.

“Jack,” she said, a smile splitting her face.

“I’m here. I’m going to get you off this blasted thing so they can heal you up, all right?”

“Jack.” She grazed the knuckles of her closed fist against his lips. “I need you.”

“I need you, too. You’re the only thing I need. I don’t have to be prince. I’ll give it up. You just . . . you just need to say with me.”

“Stop.”

“What?”

“Stop moving.”

“I can’t. I have to—”

“Please.”

Tears clouded his vision, and he fell to his knees with her in his arms.

She turned her closed fist palm up and unfurled her fingers to show him the caldera. “I need you to help me bring Her back.”

Jack searched her face, his eyes full of questions.

“Your hand.” She was so weak. If this was what she wanted, he would do it. He pressed a kiss to her lips, then closed his hand over the caldera.

Searing pain shot through his entire body, as if being pulled apart one cell at a time. He might have screamed out loud, he wasn’t sure, but the burning agony was like nothing he’d ever felt. His blood was on fire, it burned bright and hot. Then it was gone.

Breath returned to his lungs. He was once again kneeling on the glossy surface of the unnatural ground, holding his love in his arms as she slipped further and further away.